


paint the sky (with your colors)

by starsurge



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Produce X 101 (TV), X1 (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, that's it that's the fic, yohan blushes every 5 minutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 13:39:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19831360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsurge/pseuds/starsurge
Summary: seungwoo is not just yohan’s role model.the older boy is more like his crush.yohan just wishes that seungwoo could see him the same way. or does he not notice how yohan changes around him, becomes a shy mess around him, is anything but subtle around him?alternatively: five times that yohan becomes flustered around seungwoo + the one time that it's seungwoo's turn





	paint the sky (with your colors)

**( one. )**

the big screen at the other end of the studio lights up to indicate plan a’s turn for the company evaluations.

everyone in the room, including yohan himself, watches them with great interest, knowing that the two trainees on stage are not like the big majority trying out for the program. 

they’re good – obviously. all due to years of experience as debuted idols that have only honed their natural talent further. yohan almost feels kind of jealous from how easy they make their performance seem to be, how they control the small stage at the front and impress not only the trainers, but the other contestants as well.

the song that they have chosen is _save me_ and yohan really has to admit that they’re executing their evaluation almost flawlessly. no doubt in mind that they’ll be given an A rank, even if the standards are set high. 

yohan hopes he can learn a thing or two from them when they’re practicing together.

but what sticks out to him even more is the guy who carries the song with his vocals. han seungwoo reads his name tag – certainly a name that yohan won’t forget so easily.

it’s as if there’s a restraint put over yohan that makes it unable for him to look away from seungwoo. is it his talent? his aura that pulls you in, makes you stay? yohan doesn’t know, can’t pinpoint out the answer.

maybe it’s just admiration. yohan has two functioning eyes, two functioning ears, and can tell when someone is considered good and above average. what he’s feeling is probably what a fan feels for their idol – or at least something akin to.

but then again, why are yohan’s cheeks burning up in a faint red flush when seungwoo is asked to show off his singing separately? how come that his heart is fluttering slightly while listening to seungwoo’s soft voice more or less serenading the trainers with a love song? 

_it’s just admiration_ , yohan tells himself again. _i’m not feeling flustered_ , he tries to convince himself. 

and yet he can only tear away his eyes from the front, from seungwoo, when the plan a boys take their leave for the backstage area and are not to be seen anymore.

yohan tries to push thoughts to the back of his mind when the next group of trainees come on stage. 

**( two. )**

dongpyo coincidentally brings them together again after the re-evaluations.

they’re picked out to be part of the boss team, meant to be the avengers team of the current season.

honestly speaking, yohan doesn’t think he can live up to these expectations. he’ll work hard, sure, he won’t give up on trying to prove himself, no way.

but there’s certain people in the team that are the shining lights, who have it all – seungwoo is one of them.

and seungwoo, with all of his experience and natural-born leadership, wants to help shape yohan from a raw diamond into a bright star.

after all, it was him, along with jinhyuk, who recognized yohan’s ability to take on the main rapper position in their little group. 

he’s not the only one that yohan can rely on, after all. there’s also jinhyuk who teaches him about rap – who gives him a good enough basic understanding, points out his biggest flaws and works on his major weaknesses. and seungwoo joins them in practice from time to time, too. just as jinhyuk has a background in rapping, so does seungwoo, and they’re both selfless enough to take on a mentoring position for yohan.

as if that’s not enough, seungwoo goes over the choreography with yohan, too. 

“do you want me to show you that part you’re struggling with again before we leave, yohan-ah?” 

it’s already late into the night, way past midnight. maybe closing into two am, three am, yohan isn’t even sure. time has become so blurred, all that matters is that they spend as much time in the practice room as possible.

sleep? it has become foreign to not only yohan, but to every trainee on this show.

but it’s this exact mentality, the hours of hard work and limits continuously being pushed and pushed, that has taken a toll on the lot of them. just one glance at seungwoo and yohan can already tell that he’s, simply put, _exhausted_ – his face sunken from fatigue, eye bags that almost reach the floor, his stance weak and improper.

“no, it’s fine, hyung. you need sleep. i’ll just do this on my own, tell the others that i’ll be the last one to come back.” yohan can’t bring it upon himself to hold back seungwoo from any needed rest. wouldn’t it be too greedy otherwise? seungwoo has already done so much for him, it’s the least that yohan can do.

for some reason, yohan doesn’t expect seungwoo to stay back just for him. but that’s not exactly seungwoo’s way – he’s not someone to leave behind a friend if they need help.

“c’mon, it’ll be quicker if i do it with you.” seungwoo argues and drops his bag onto the floor before he pushes himself back to yohan’s side. 

they run through a few steps together – once again, with seungwoo giving explanations while doing the moves slowly, his sole attention on yohan. he watches the younger boy attentively, fixing his stance whenever needed. with his hands on yohan’s hips, or on his arms, sometimes his thighs if his legs aren’t in the right position. 

which, usually, yohan doesn’t mind or even really register in his mind. the touches, that is. he knows it’s solely for better visualization, so that he knows how he has to fix his body during the dance. 

for some reason, though, he feels a blush creeping up on his cheeks, bashfulness falling over him. it’s almost like he’s feeling shy – shy to seungwoo’s touch, the physical closeness between them.

it must be the fatigue that is getting to him. yohan’s mind is just fried and drawing all the wrong conclusions. hard and long days with no kind of relief do funny things to him, that’s all.

it’s definitely not because he’s fixating on it for a specific reason, or enjoying the warmth from seungwoo’s hand on him. it has nothing to do with how yohan sometimes catches himself thinking about seungwoo in a different kind of way while he’s lying in bed: seeing seungwoo in a different kind of light during dance practice, when they’re hanging out, are just together. 

“alright, i can see how you’re already too distracted.” seungwoo suddenly speaks up and startles yohan out of his thoughts. “let’s go back and get some rest.” 

with an arm put around yohan’s shoulders, seungwoo walks them out of the building and across the complex to the dorms. if he notices any signs of abashment on yohan’s face, he thankfully doesn’t bring it up at all. 

(either way, yohan would have found an excuse to blame it on the chilly breeze instead.) 

**( three. )**

everyone wants seungwoo in their team. 

jungmo and jinhyuk want seungwoo to be part of their teams respectively, hoping that it’d give them an edge over each other in the X position. and each of the vocal positions are hoping to be the one picked by seungwoo, knowing too well that he has been dubbed the ‘main vocal’ of the season, and he would certainly be a benefit.

it’s no different for yohan. they have been interviewed before the whole second mission started off – the questions ranking from what they’ll choose, who they want to group up with, etc etc. 

yohan’s first choice was and _is_ seungwoo. there’s a few factors coming together for the decision: seungwoo is the best singer in yohan’s eyes and looking over his team, made up of junho, hyunbin and himself so far, they’re in dire need of a strong and capable vocalist.

there also needs to be a responsible leader, one who knows how to lead a bunch of inexperienced and young trainees, and who’s better for that than a past leader? with no doubt in mind, yohan only sees seungwoo fit for the job, although he knows that probably any of the older trainees could do just as well.

but his true reasoning is on a personal level, and it is simply just that yohan wants to be together with seungwoo. their time on boss team has brought them closer and turned them into friends, perhaps even close friends. yohan can trust seungwoo, because he knows that the latter has his back, and that’s the most valuable in a competition. 

when yohan sees seungwoo peeking out from the corridor leading to the teams, his heart starts beating faster all of a sudden. it’s the stressful anticipation of where seungwoo will be going that makes yohan all bustling, still hoping that fate brings them together again. 

seungwoo makes it even more nerve-wrecking by pressing the sign against his stomach, covering up the title of the chosen song. what’s clear is that he’s going for a vocal position – judging on how his eyes are fleeting to the left direction and his feet take him to them.

it’s as if yohan’s heart is on the verge of springing out of his chest the closer seungwoo gets. next to him, yuvin is begging seungwoo to join the _day by day_ team, resembling a big puppy quite a lot. his voice is even full of desperateness, chanting “ _hyung, hyung, hyung_ ”, but there’s no use to it since the older boy already made up his mind. 

seungwoo gives yuvin an apologetic smile before passing by to reveal his real destination – _me after you_. knowing that, after all, seungwoo will be performing with him again, yohan is washed over with an immense wave of happiness. the excitement is written all over his face – a wide and bright smile etched on his lips, his bunny teeth showing in full glory, and his eyes shaping into twinkling crescent moons. 

with joy overcoming him yohan practically throws himself at seungwoo, hugging the older boy tightly to himself and even letting out a giggle. yohan feels as if he’s over the moon, there’s no other way to put it. it’s so strong that he has butterflies in his stomach. different to before, just a week before or so, yohan likes the feeling. even admits his huge infatuation with seungwoo to himself: that there’s no way of mistaking his feeling for anything else.

when he finally breaks apart from seungwoo and the latter goes to the very back of the row, one of the staff behind the camera give yohan a sign to say something. probably about his thoughts on seungwoo joining their team. 

yohan’s response is plain and simple: “it’s perfect. i wanted him to come here.” 

the staff seems to be satisfied with that answer and perhaps that’s what makes yohan flustered just the tiniest bit.

but it’s a good kind of embarrassment. the one someone experiences around their crush. scratch that. yohan is giddy with excitement and is practically radiating with it all over. 

all just because of seungwoo.

**( four. )**

they get a few days off before dorming life for the next mission begins again.

yohan’s company deems it as a perfect opportunity for their trainee to go visit his ads. along with some of oui’s staff, he’s sent out to the subway ads, just him and no other friend from the show. he knows that there are a few who want to go in groups, but yohan is supposed to represent his company after all.

at sinchon station, yohan gets off, and unsurprisingly, there are already quite a number of fans waiting. he doesn’t even want to think about how they knew, or if they just camped around this area just in case a trainee would come around. 

all he knows is that he has to smile and wave at them and show his thankfulness. don’t get him wrong; yohan _is_ grateful for their support. the fans are the reason that he’s still on the path to fulfill his dreams and who keep on supporting him. 

he wishes that he could show them his appreciation better. but the rules given by mnet aren’t exactly friendly regarding idol-fan interactions, and so the simplest that yohan can do is to at least recognize the public support from his fanbase. 

what catches yohan’s attention, though, while he’s walking through the underground, is an ad that’s not meant for him.

it’s seungwoo’s ad. 

halting in his steps, yohan takes a good look at it, and in a whim decides to take out his phone. the staff with him are urging him to hurry on up, so yohan snaps a quick picture from afar before going right in front of the ad to take a selfie with ‘seungwoo’.

he sends it almost immediately to the person in question with a satisfied grin displayed on his face. 

until yohan is back in the car, he doesn’t think about the selfie at all. it’s merely a thought at the back of his mind, but one that keeps him unknowingly energized. 

only when he fishes his mobile out of his pocket and checks his kkt chats, a shy bunny smile subconsciously spreads across his face. 

seungwoo has seen his selfie and has given yohan a cheeky reply.

it goes a little bit like this:

**yohan** [xx:xx]

_hyung, i saw your ad today!_

_[.jpg attached]_

**seungwoo** [xx:xx]

_don’t you think i have a handsome face?_

_(laughing emoji)_

**yohan** [xx:xx]

_hyunggg, don’t get so cocky now_

**seungwoo** [xx:xx]

_why? :(_

_aren't you my #1 fan anymore? :(_

yohan is full out giggling to himself at this point, partly from cringe, partly from giddiness. it’s so easy for seungwoo to evoke a whirlwind of emotions within yohan, but the latter can’t say anymore that he really minds.

he is kind of seungwoo’s biggest fan, isn’t he? from how he’s only ever had to put in a good word for seungwoo since the very beginning and how his admiration has never wavered. 

except that now they’re close friends, and yohan is living every fan’s dream. 

but contrary to belief yohan still has not achieved what he’s been yearning for a while now. 

seungwoo is not just yohan’s role model. 

the older boy is more like crush. 

yohan just wishes that seungwoo could see him the same way. or does he not notice how yohan changes around him, becomes a shy mess around him, is anything but subtle around him?

after opening and closing his phone’s home screen a few times, yohan finally replies to seungwoo with a defeated sigh.

**yohan** [xx:xx]

_of course i am~_

_you won’t get rid of me so easily :)_

**( five. )**

not a whole lot can faze yohan anymore, or that’s what he likes to think.

it’s been a few weeks at this point, they’re preparing for the third and last mission before the final. yohan has spent enough time with seungwoo that he has learnt to keep his feelings in check after all. 

but seungwoo wouldn’t be seungwoo, and a crush wouldn’t be a crush, if he didn’t make yohan’s heart race faster, didn’t make his palms sweaty, didn’t elicit the utmost reaction out of him.

of course, yohan argues, that anyone would be thrown off balance in this sort of erotic situation. which, don’t get him wrong, sounds completely different than what it actually is.

here’s the thing: seungwoo and yohan are grouped up together again for the concept song _u got it_. it’s a sensual song, mirroring in the tunes and the choreography, and they’re going all out to match the sexiness required.

everyone and their mothers know that seungwoo can be _very_ erotic, the directly up in your face kind, and yohan is no less weak for it. hell, he sometimes catches himself staring at seungwoo while he’s practicing, and not exactly from spacing out with an empty head, but with not so innocent thoughts instead.

that’s something yohan can keep to himself and control. sometimes, there’s a teasing remark thrown into the room, either from someone else in the team or seungwoo himself. yohan just brushes it off, says with a somewhat awkward chuckle that he’s just trying to learn from seungwoo, and that’s mostly it for the topic after a few moments.

but then the staff pairs yohan up with seungwoo and eunsang for promotional behind the scenes videos and he really can’t easily escape his fate there. it’s going smoothly until they’re asked who is the sexiest member and what else is yohan supposed to do than to given his honest answer? 

however, giving seungwoo an ego boost might not have been the best idea, especially when yohan asks for the other to sing a part of the song. how should yohan have known that seungwoo would suddenly put his hands on his shoulder and sing right into his ear with his breathless, husky voice? or rather, in better terms: _moan_ right into yohan’s ear.

instinctively, yohan squirms around on his spot and quickly tears himself away from seungwoo, all while making a lot of embarrassed noises out of nervousness. everyone’s cracking up from the deemed funny situation, which doesn’t help suppressing the blush rapidly spreading all over his body and not only on his cheeks. 

however, yohan’s misery doesn’t just stop there. just like his stupidity doesn’t end there. 

just a day or two later, he’s in one of the cramped up practice rooms with seungwoo and donghyun to practice on their singing. donghyun isn’t even in their team, but he did ask for some tips and they weren’t going to turn him down. 

either way, it’s all going well, until donghyun asks out of curiosity if they could show him their progress for their song. yohan, of course, has to bring up seungwoo as the volunteer. 

unfortunately, seungwoo really gets into it and expresses the sensuality just _spot on_. which includes attuning his singing technique to the vibe. on top of it, his whole aura changes, giving yohan no other chance but to marvel at his performance. 

(amongst a few other things going on within himself that shall not be named.)

the way seungwoo makes groaning sounds, sings certain parts in a feathery but erotic tune, and looks at yohan with bedroom eyes, makes yohan’s blood boil but definitely not out of anger.

 _and_ definitely not just out of shyness. 

yohan seems to keep on digging his own grave deeper and deeper.

it’s about time that he finally finds the light and saves himself out from his own hopelessness. 

**( + one. )**

it’s just a few days before the final. 

yohan is filled with so much anxiety, they all are. too many what ifs that float around in his head and they only become gloomier with each scenario. what if he screws up in his most important performances? what if the people at the concert hall decide that he’s not worthy enough to be in the group? what if he doesn’t debut? what if the friends closest to him don’t debut?

what if seungwoo doesn’t debut?

he really has been thinking a lot about this. it’s inevitable that only eleven of the last twenty participants make it through, while the others are simply left behind. seungwoo might be one of them. 

if someone asked yohan with whom he really wants to debut together, his answer would be with no doubt: han seungwoo. after all these weeks that they’ve spent together, roomed together, practiced together and went through every low and high, yohan can only see seungwoo on his side in the unknown future. 

maybe, it’s a selfish wish. but it’s a wish coming from inside of yohan’s heart. 

and yet, _and yet_ , there’s even more to it.

yohan finally wants to put his feelings into words. the decision wasn’t easy to make; nothing that he could gather the courage for overnight. there’s so much that could go wrong – they’re in an environment that doesn’t give them a lot of liberties, when it comes to the simple matter of love. 

maybe it’s a selfish wish that yohan wants to confess to seungwoo, regardless their circumstances. yet, something inside him is telling him to take the chance, to follow what his heart desires.

what his heart desires is seungwoo. 

on the night before the final, yohan finds himself with seungwoo in one of the rare rooms with no cameras in sight. neither of them can sleep – they’re not the only ones. it’d be a miracle if anyone in the dorms could manage to catch a wink of sleep. 

there’s a lot of nervous energy; it’s almost omnipresent in every nook and corner of the building. even between them, the mood verges on being somber, melancholic. yohan can see how it’s reflected on seungwoo’s face, the same worries and troubles etched deep into his expression like at the very beginning.

yohan feels his heart weighing even heavier just from seeing seungwoo reverting back to his most vulnerable self.

“are you scared of tomorrow?” seungwoo suddenly asks but without taking a glance at yohan. he’s staring off into the distance, but yohan understands. 

“it’s hard not to be. our future is on the line after all.” 

the final decision for the group will be made in those few hours and despite his constant success throughout the show, yohan can’t shake off his nervousness, or his negative thoughts. from the looks of it, seungwoo must be feeling the same, although they’re coming from different situations. seungwoo can go back to his former group, and hopefully soar high with the recognition that he has gained in the past weeks – yohan on the other hand has to go back to his company and doesn’t know if his agency has immediate plans for him.

but it is not exactly what is pressuring yohan in that very moment. 

“hyung, i want to debut together with you.” yohan breaks through the silence and looks up at seungwoo, his eyes twinkling with sincerity but a certain kind of desperateness as well.

at last, seungwoo meets his gaze, and the gloomy look on his face brightens up with a small smile. “you really like me that much, don’t you?” but then, followed with an exasperated sigh, “i wish i could make this wish come true for you.” 

in that moment, yohan thinks it’s all or nothing. he takes a deep breath and scoots closer to seungwoo, with his hand resting on the other’s bent knee.

“i really do like you a lot, hyung. i like you too much even.” 

silence. just the soft puffs of breath can be made out quietly, which does nothing to ease yohan’s jitters.

yohan thinks that he has fucked up royally – they’ll have to pretend that this confession never happened, give a few weeks and they might even be over the awkwardness ensuing, perhaps even laugh about it over beer and soju one day. 

what he doesn’t expect though is to see seungwoo’s cheeks flare up in a deep red, unusual to his natural confidence. 

“wow, i didn’t expect that. i mean, i guess i should have, but…” seungwoo suddenly breaks off his rambling, and puts his face into his palms to cover up how shy and red he has become.

for once, it’s yohan’s turn to feel somewhat bold between them. “you know, i can see that you’re flustered. is it because… do you like me, too?” 

a moment passes by before seungwoo peeks through his hands and slightly shrugs his shoulders. “i’ve been holding back all this time, yohan-ah. i thought that if i acted on my feelings, it’d put you into an uncomfortable position.” 

to say that yohan is flabbergasted is an understatement. perhaps this is the reason why he’s suddenly thrown into a giggle fit, much to seungwoo’s shock and displeasure. 

“you don’t have to make fun of me.” seungwoo grumbles out defensively, but doesn’t make a scene to push yohan away from himself. instead, the corner of his lips twitch up into a suppressed smile, finding the irony just as amusing as yohan does.

“i’m not, i’m not! sorry.” yohan says in between his breathy chuckles while trying to calm himself down. “i just can’t believe that this is real.”

at last, comfortable silence settles between them, with yohan leaning his body into seungwoo’s side. what makes it more intimate is the hand on his knee now, seungwoo’s long and slender fingers fondling it absentmindedly. 

warmth spreads through yohan and it’s nothing but the good kind – warmth that he associates with the feeling of home, of safety, of love. 

“hyung, if we debut together, let’s try to make this work out.” yohan mumbles out a bit shyly, but with pure sincerity in his voice. 

suddenly, seungwoo takes his hand off yohan’s knee to gently put it over yohan’s fiddling hands in his lap, successfully taking off the edge from the younger boy and having him look up with wide eyes.

with an endeared smile, seungwoo simply says: “let’s debut together then, yohan-ah.” 

**bonus:**

“why are seungwoo and yohan allowed to take the two people bedroom?” junho asks with a pout while unpacking his luggage begrudgingly. 

no one seems to pay attention to the question thrown into the room – the rest of them busy with their own stuff.

that is until wooseok suddenly looks up from his phone and deadpans in a dry voice: “believe me, junho, you don’t want to lose your innocence by rooming with them.” 

junho drops the topic as soon as it clicks in his mind what exactly wooseok meant. 

**Author's Note:**

> it has taken me around a week to finish this, but i'm really glad i managed it before the final hhh
> 
> comments are always highly appreciated <3
> 
> p.s.: prayer circle that seungwoo and yohan do debut together


End file.
